“That doesn’t give Kenzie the right to move in for the kill and ignore you as if you don’t exist. I always knew she was a selfish bitch.”
“You’re a great friend, Zara, and I love you, but can we let the Kenzie hate go? I’m trying to move forward, and thinking about that is holding me back.” Truth. I’m furious with Kenzie, but dwelling on it won’t help.
She slants me a strange look before jerking her head up, her eyes twinkling in amusement. Cooper looms over us. “Ladies.” He salutes us, grinning. “I just need a word with Tori.”
“What’s up?” I ask, as he drops into the empty chair beside me, supporting his arms on his knees.
“I think it’s time you joined us at our table.” He pins me with a serious look. “You’re living with us now, and we’ve gone public with our relationship, so I’m not sitting through lunch without you anymore.”
“Sh.” I cast a quick glance around. “No one knows I’m shacked up with you guys, and I want to keep it that way for now. They wouldn’t understand, and I don’t want to be the subject of more gossip.”
“You won’t be able to keep it quiet forever, Tori.”
I open my mouth to say what, I’m not entirely sure, when a shocked look washes over his face, distracting me. “What the actual fuck?” He glares at something or someone over my head.
I twist around, instantly finding the source of his disbelief. My jaw slackens, and my insides twist into knots. Butterflies swarm my chest, and all the blood drains from my face. I blink repeatedly, sure my eyes must be deceiving me, but, no, it’s not a vision or the embodiment of a living nightmare.
He saunters toward us with a customary swagger and a wide smirk on his face, as if he hasn’t a care in the world. I clasp Coop’s arm, swallowing the wedge of anxiety stuck in my throat.
A deathly hush has settled over the room as everyone watches to see what he does next.
Stopping at our table, he plants his hands on the Formica tabletop, and his arrogant expression morphs into a serious one as he pins crystal clear blue eyes on me. “Tori,” Jack says, “I was hoping to find you here. We need to talk.”
CHAPTER 3
The sound of running footsteps approaching is all I hear as I stare, dumbfounded, at Jack. If it even is him, because how the hell does he look so … normal? Sporting a full head of sleek blond hair, a healthy complexion, and sharp, mesmerizing blue eyes, this familiar version of Jack is a world away from the creepy, freaky monstrosity the guys had kept caged in the basement of their house. While the guys aren’t up to speed on curse-infection, they were adamant that Jack was either dead or dying within the shell of his body.
As my eyes roam over his muscular, ripped torso, there isn’t any part of him that looks like it’s in need of resuscitation. He looks fit and healthy and just like his old self.
But I don’t trust it.
Not for a bit. Which is why my nails are currently digging into Cooper’s arm.
“You have a fucking nerve,” Jensen barks at Jack, putting his face in his. “Get the hell away from her.”
Maddox, Dane, and Beckett reach our table, standing possessively behind me. They all eyeball Jack with a huge amount of trepidation.
“Jensen, dude. I know you’re mad, but I can explain.” Jack shoots him a cocky smile. “I mean Tori no harm. I had a contagious infection, and I’ve just spent weeks in a specialist medical facility being treated. I wasn’t myself. I was having hallucinations, and everything I said was all fabrication. That night, I thought she’d been sent to kill me, and I was just protecting myself.”
That statement is a bit too close to the bone to be a made-up story, and my eyes narrow as I inspect Jack. What the hell is going on here?
Jack laughs, flashing his palms in a “don’t shoot” type of gesture. “I know it sounds crazy, but it’s the truth, bruh. My parents didn’t want anyone to know, so they let people believe I was missing.”
Jensen sends him an incredulous look, and I can tell he’s buying this about as much as we are, but he doesn’t get an opportunity to respond.
“Oh my God, Jack!” Kenzie screeches, coming up behind him. Shoving her tray at Jensen, she flings herself into Jack’s arms. “I’ve been so worried about you!”
He slings his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. As he presses a kiss to the top of her head, he keeps his eyes firmly locked on mine. “I’m glad someone missed me.” He sends a smug grin my way. “I missed you too, babe.”
Kenzie beams up at him, and Zara snorts. “Huh, so much for being into Jensen,” she murmurs under her breath.
Dane steps forward, eyeballing Jack with blatant suspicion. He is calm when he speaks, but his voice drips with warning, sending chills down my spine. “Outside. Now.”
Jack enters into a face-off with Dane, neither one of them backing down as they square their shoulders, piercing one another with penetrating stares. Finally, Jack succumbs, subtly nodding. “Babe,” he murmurs, kissing the side of Kenzie’s head. “I need to speak with Tori and the guys, but I’ll catch up with you after school. Wait in the parking lot for me.”
“Okay.” She can’t keep the excitement from her voice. I risk a quick glance at Jensen. He looks troubled but unconcerned about Kenzie’s defection, confirming my suspicion that her infatuation was all one-sided. He whips his head around, and we lock eyes for the first time in weeks. His gaze radiates pain and uncertainty, but there’s more to it. Is that … fear I sense behind the more prominent emotions? My heart beats way too fast in my chest as I continue staring at my ex-boyfriend, wondering what exactly that look means and why it’s on his face.
I’m vaguely aware of being nudged out of my seat. “Tori.” Cooper winds his hand in mine, tugging gently. “You with me?”
Jensen glares at Cooper—there’s still no love lost between them—his gaze flicking from Coop’s face to our conjoined hands. I gulp over the painful lump at the back of my throat, finally tearing my gaze away. The urge to remove my hand from Cooper’s grasp is riding me hard, but I don’t want to hurt him, and the simple fact is I’m no longer with Jensen. While I don’t want to rub his nose in it, or hurt him anymore than I already have, I won’t hide my relationship with Cooper, because that would only be deceiving Jensen in a different way. I look into Cooper’s concerned blue eyes. “I’m with you. Let’s go.”
Cooper takes my bag, slinging it over his shoulder alongside his, keeping a firm grip on my hand as he follows Dane and Jack out of the cafeteria. Maddox and Beck hold up the rear, and we all walk in silence through the school building and out to the parking lot.
Jack stops at his truck, turning around to face us with an arrogant, condescending smirk on his face. Dane steps up to him, tilting his head from side to side as he examines his face with a healthy dose of distrust. Cooper leans against the silver SUV at our back, wrapping his arms around me from behind. Maddox and Beck flank us on both sides, and we eyeball Dane and Jack, standing stiffly in front of one another, each waiting for the other to kick off.
“How are you here, and don’t feed us the same crap you tossed out back there,” Dane says, jerking his head in the direction of the school.
Jack runs his hands through his hair before shoving them in the pockets of his jeans. He rocks back on his heels, and the superior expression fades. “You’re right, that was a load of crap, but I had to have some explanation for where I’ve been these last few weeks.” His gaze moves to mine, and he wets his lips.
Dane growls, shoving him in the shoulders. Jack’s a big guy, but he’s no match for Dane’s alien-DNA-super-charged brute strength, and he stumbles, falling back against the side of his truck. “Keep your fucking eyes on me. Don’t look at her. Like, ever.”
Jack’s eyes pop wide. “Jeez, dude. Chill the fuck out. Possessive much?” He attempts a laugh, but it dies an immediate death.
Dane crosses his arms and stares Jack out of it. “Start. Talking.”
Jack exhales noisily. “Truth is, I don’t
know where I’ve been or what’s happened. I woke up, freezing and filthy, in a field on the outskirts of town four days ago. Everything that has happened to me in the last couple of months is a complete blur. I have vague memories of stuff, like spouting shit about Tori and jumping her outside Zara’s house, but the rest is a big fucking blank.” He holds up his hands. “Swear to God, that’s the truth.”
Maddox snorts, stepping forward until he’s shoulder to shoulder with Dane. “That’s it? That’s the best you can come up with? That’s fucking lame as.”
Jack’s nostrils flare. “You asked for the truth, and I’ve given it to you. I don’t know all right! I don’t fucking know what the hell has happened to me—only I get the sense it wasn’t anything good.” A genuine panicked look appears on his face, and I can’t figure this out. Is he telling it to us straight, or is this part of some new sick game plan?
“Is this possible?” I whisper to Beck.
“In theory, it could be possible, but it seems implausible to me.”
“I don’t like it,” Coop whispers. “I don’t like this at all.”
“If that’s the truth,” Dane says, “then you won’t mind being examined by my brother.” He tosses a glance at Beck.
Jack’s brow furrows. “Examined? If you mean a lie detector test, then I can show you the results of the one my parents already organized for me. They’re freaking out over the fact I have no clue where I’ve been. The test didn’t shed any light, but, hey, knock yourselves out.”
Dane scrubs a hand over his prickly jaw as he mulls things over. Jack scratches the back of his head, frowning. “What’s it to you guys anyway? And why do I have images of you all in my head?” He swings his gaze from Dane to Maddox, and then his eyes narrow as he zones in on Cooper. “And why did you have your hands around my neck?”
Coop exchanges a worried expression with Dane before tightening his grip on my waist. “That’s a great selective memory you have there, Jack. Sure that’s all you remember?”
Jack smirks. “I’ve nothing to hide, but I wonder if the same can be said for you?”
Coop stiffens behind me.
“What the fuck do you mean by that?” Maddox demands, cracking his knuckles.
Jack shrugs, and his cocky grin vanishes again. “Nothing. I swear.” He shakes his head. “Look, I want to get to the bottom of this as much as you guys seem to want to. If you think you can figure something out, then by all means, have at it. Like I said, I’ve nothing to hide.”
“Fine.” A muscle pulses in Dane’s jaw. “We’ll go to our place. Follow us, and don’t think about taking any detours or skipping town again, because we’ll find you before you get far.”
Jack’s mouth curls into a snarl. “I’m coming with you freely, asshole, and you’d do well to remember that. Don’t fucking threaten me.”
Maddox places a cautionary hand on Dane’s arm, pulling him away.
We pile into our car, and everyone is quiet until Dane pulls out onto the main road. “How is this possible?” I ask no one in particular from the back seat. “I thought you said Jack was effectively gone, so how can he just stroll into school looking exactly the same and like nothing happened to him?”
“I’d like to know the same thing, Tori.” Dane levels an earnest stare at me through the mirror. “Truth is, we don’t know if this is possible or not.”
Beck turns around in the passenger seat, looking me directly in the eye. “You know we don’t have much knowledge or experience with curse-infections. Perhaps it is possible to completely reverse the effects. I suppose it would depend on exactly how he was cursed, by whom, and for what purpose.”
“Even if it is possible,” Coop cuts in. “Then he’s been returned here for a reason, and none of us are safe around him, especially not Alinthia.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Dane supplies. “Which is why Beck will run several tests on him.”
“I’ll do a DNA scan, a memory test, and I’ll check for evidence of curse-infection.”
“We should completely erase his memory too,” Maddox suggests. “It’s not good if he’s remembering parts of his incarceration. The last thing we need him doing is talking shit about us around school. We’ve enough unwanted scrutiny as it is.”
“Let’s just get him tested, and then we can discuss the best plan of action,” Dane says, putting the conversation to bed for now.
Beck sets up everything he needs in the formal living room, a room I haven’t ever stepped foot into until now. It’s the room closest to the front door, and it’s clear the guys want to do this as quickly as possible and then get Jack the hell away from here. He cooperates without argument, allowing Beck to poke and prod him and extract blood and other tissue samples. The rest of us hover in the room, carefully watching proceedings.
I’m sitting between Maddox and Cooper on the couch. Maddox has his arm stretched out across the top of the couch, and his knee is brushing mine. Coop is idly playing with strands of my hair. Jack watches us, wincing a little when Beck sticks a strange, metallic patch onto the side of his neck. “This is the last one,” he confirms, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
Jack barely acknowledges him, his gaze dancing between me and the two guys on either side of me. “It’s obviously true you’ve moved on from Jensen,” he says, lifting a brow, “but I’m having a hard time figuring out who you’ve moved on to.” He purposely flicks his gaze from Coop to Maddox before pinning me with a curious expression.
“My private life is none of your business,” I retort, hoping he’ll drop it.
“Are you with all of them?” he asks, refusing to let it go.
By mutual agreement, Coop is the only one allowed to openly show me affection, so most everyone assumes we’re an item, and I’m comfortable with that label. It helps deflect from the reality, which is something a small town like this just wouldn’t accept or tolerate. Besides, I haven’t even told Mom what’s going on, and I’d hate for her to hear it on the grapevine. I’ve no clue how to explain it to her, which is why I haven’t mentioned a word to her so far. I wonder if she’d be so willing to let me stay here if she knew how deep my feelings ran for all four of my protectors.
I need to shut Jack down before he gives the gossipmongers more fodder for the grapevine. I lace my fingers in Cooper’s. “I’m with Cooper. Happy now?”
“No need to be so touchy. Just making conversation, Tori.” He smiles, but it doesn’t touch his eyes, and knots form in my stomach again.
Everything about Jack’s reappearance has me on edge, and without needing Beck to confirm the results, I know we’ve just been sent a warning.
I only hope I’m up to speed before our enemies show their hand.
CHAPTER 4
Dane goes with Beck to his workspace to analyze the test results, while the rest of us wait with Jack. An awkward tension fills the space between us. Both Maddox and Cooper sit rigidly still, watching Jack like a hawk. I clear my throat and sit up straighter, stabbing Jack with a serious look. “I want you to stay away from Kenzie.”
Jack quirks a brow and his lips curl up in amusement. “I made a mistake letting Kenzie go, and I’m going to rectify that. I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” he retorts, flinging my own words back at me.
I sit forward, angling toward him. “Let me rephrase. You will stay away from Kenzie. You will ignore her as if she doesn’t exist.” While Kenzie and I haven’t been on good terms recently, that doesn’t mean I want to see her come to any harm. This whole situation reeks, and I want her nowhere near him.
“Or what, Tori?” He snorts, and an arrogant look appears on his face. “You’ll beat my ass?”
“She won’t,” Maddox says, staging a timely intervention. He cricks his neck from side to side. “But I will. Kenzie is off limits. Period.”
Before Jack has the chance to retort, Dane and Beck reenter the room. Both look enormously troubled. Dane stares at Jack, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck as he rakes
his gaze over him. He exhales loudly, and his frustration trickles through the connection. “You’re free to go, Jack, but we’ll be watching you. Make one false move and we’ll be all over you.”
Jack rises to his feet, assuming his usual cocky swagger. “You are all a bunch of fucking freaks.” He looks between all of us. “I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but I want no part of it. Stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours.” He strides toward the door.
“Stay away from Kenzie,” I remind him.
Spinning around, he grins before flipping me the bird. I purse my lips, while Maddox growls at the back of his throat.
“Get out,” Dane snaps, closing the gap and shoving Jack out the door.
“What the hell, Beck?” Coop stands, throwing his hands in the air. “Please explain why we just let him go? Has Dane lost his fucking mind?”
“Cool it, Coop. I had to let him go, because there’s no reason to hold him,” Dane replies, stepping back into the room. “It’s like he said. We can’t find anything wrong with him.”
“Wait?” Maddox stands, grimacing. “Are you saying the tests showed nothing out of the ordinary?”
Beck nods. “There’s no evidence of any curse-infection, no evidence of mind tampering or foul play of any kind. His DNA scan shows him as wholly human.”
I climb to my feet. “This doesn’t make any sense. How can he be wholly human when the last time we saw him he was that horrid, creepy thing? He’s anything but human.”
“It’s not adding up, Alinthia,” Dane agrees. “And I don’t trust it. Don’t trust him, but we can’t hold him against his will. Not without grounds for it.”
“Bullshit!” Cooper exclaims. “We’ve done worse without any justification.” I arch a brow in his direction, but he chooses to ignore my curiosity. “We can’t just let him walk around the town, doing who the hell knows what!”
“I know, which is why I’m going to meet with Zorc and request an asset be assigned to Jack.”
“What’s an asset?” I ask.
The Secret Heir (Alinthia Series Book 2) Page 3